America ReFramed

In HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, a family reeling from the unjust incarceration of an ailing mentally ill loved one, calls on their faith and the strength of community to right a systemic wrong. Music, love and creativity are used to permeate the isolation of a solitary confinement cell, and a public performance on prison grounds is used to challenge the state to do better.

Stevie Walker-Webb, who lived in a community-built prison cell for 24 hours as a representation of solitary confinement, shares his hopes and fears for incarcerated people with mental illness like his brother. Waday Walker has stayed in solitary for 122 days after being arrested during a mental health crisis.

Stevie and Waday Walker-Webb talk on the phone about Waday's wishes after he is released from prison - he was arrested during a mental health crisis. Stevie is working with family members who have incarcerated loved ones to present and protest solitary confinement through a 24-hour representation.

For 24 hours, Stevie Walker-Webb is staying in a community-built box that represents a solitary confinement cell. His inspiration is his brother Waday, who is incarcerated in solitary for 122 days and the purpose is to show the inhumanity of confining a person with mental illness.

Incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison, Rahsaan Thomas talks with Lonnie Morris about incarceration and the inhumanity of it, including why people get involved in crime and how isolation is the root cause.

Adamu Chan and Isa Borgeson are best friends through thick and thin. Although Chan's incarceration has kept them apart, they are still able to share their hopes and dreams for the future when freedom becomes a reality. Borgeson herself has been leading an effort to support Chan and other loved ones at California's San Quentin while the COVID-19 pandemic rages inside the walls of the prison.

Transcending the grim realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adamu Chan's WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD paints a portrait of resilience and hope blossoming within San Quentin State Prison. Chan, formerly incarcerated himself, offers an insider's view delving into his own journey towards freedom, while amplifying the voices of his community and their loved ones on both sides of the prison walls.

Transcending the grim realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adamu Chan's WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD paints a portrait of resilience and hope blossoming within San Quentin State Prison. Chan, formerly incarcerated himself, offers an insider's view delving into his own journey towards freedom, while amplifying the voices of his community and their loved ones on both sides of the prison walls.

Director Adamu Chan and Natasha Del Toro, host of America ReFramed, talk about WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD and the story behind the documentary. Chan, who was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, shares why he chose to focus on the relationships between people inside the walls and the loved ones on the outside. The director also opens up about his own experience, impact, and filmmaking.

Lonnie Morris once said "Me and my families, they really believe, you know, that I'm getting out of prison but it's really difficult for me to get out of prison. So I'm stuck in this kind of no man land of trying to be honest and truthful with them but not creating any illusions." But now the man incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison has a second chance on the outside.

They say art heals and it is what director Adamu Chan discovered when he picked up a camera while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Chan, who worked with others on the inside, learned filmmaking, shared his art through videos, and found a purpose that led to healing and eventually making the documentary, WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD.

On the way to driving women and children for a family visit at a prison, Kristal Bush shares her first time of going to see her incarcerated father. Bush's memories are both vivid and "blurry" but paint a picture of a difficult childhood without her father.